Luke 2:8-218And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:8‑21)
The night Jesus was born and laid to sleep in a manger in Bethlehem, there were shepherds in the country not far away, watching their flocks, when a very great event took place:
“Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord ... .And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the higst, and on earth peace, good will tard men.”
This was the most wonderful message ever told to men: a Saviour had come! All had sinned, and had no right to God’s blessing, but because of this Saviour, God had good will toward all, and offered peace to all. The angel’s messages to Zacharias, to Mary, and to Joseph, told of blessing, not for one nation only, but this was for all. The shepherds were meant to tell others.
If only the one angel had come, it would have been a wondrous sight, but “a multitude” came, as though not only for men to have the message, but in praise to God for His gift to men, and in praise to the One Who had come, as it is written,
The shepherds did not wait until some other day to go to see the Saviour Who had come to earth: they went “in haste” to the village of Bethlehem to see that little Baby, which the angel told them would be in a manger. They found the place where Joseph and Mary were, and the Baby lying in a manger. Then they told others the message of the angel, and that they had seen the Child, born to be the Saviour, Who was Christ the Lord.
The people of that land who believed the writings of the prophets in their scriptures, expected the Messiah, or the Christ, to come, but many looked for Him to come a Great King, but they thought much of what the shepherds told them, and no doubt many went to see the newborn child.
God had sent His Son at first a poor humble child; it is not told there was a circle of light about His head as shown in many pictures, yet the shepherds were not disappointed. They were certain they had seen the Christ. They returned to the flocks “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
The message brought from God by the angels that night with its offer of peace to men, has never been withdrawn. He will give peace to all who believe in His Son. We know He is not now in the manger, but we can be “in haste to go and see” for ourselves, as the shepherds did, that God’s message is true.
ML 10/08/1944